Within-person variability in performance across school subjects

TY - JOUR

T1 - Within-person variability in performance across school subjects

AU - Wright, Megan

AU - von Stumm, Sophie

N1 - Funding Information: We thank the TEDS twins and their parents for their ongoing contributions to the study. TEDS is supported by the UK Medical Research Council ( MR/M021475/1 and previously G0901245 ), with additional support from the US National Institutes of Health ( AG046938 ) and the European Commission ( 602768 ; 295366 ). MW is supported by Hogan Assessments . SvS is supported by a Jacobs Foundation Fellowship. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier Inc.

PY - 2022/1

Y1 - 2022/1

N2 - Although thought to be substantial, within-person variability in performance across school subjects has not been systematically studied. Here we analysed data from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS; Nmax = 5919) to describe within-person variability across grades in English, maths, and science from age 7 to 16 years. We found that within-person grade variability was largely unstable across subjects and ages. Within-person grade variability at age 16 was not associated with any of 15 variables that typically explain between-person differences in school performance (e.g. IQ, socioeconomic status, and personality traits). Also, within-person grade variability did not predict later educational outcomes at ages 18 and 21. Within-person grade variability is observable, but did not emerge in this study as a meaningful psychological construct. We conclude that understanding the causes and consequences of within-person grade variability is possibly of limited epistemological value.

AB - Although thought to be substantial, within-person variability in performance across school subjects has not been systematically studied. Here we analysed data from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS; Nmax = 5919) to describe within-person variability across grades in English, maths, and science from age 7 to 16 years. We found that within-person grade variability was largely unstable across subjects and ages. Within-person grade variability at age 16 was not associated with any of 15 variables that typically explain between-person differences in school performance (e.g. IQ, socioeconomic status, and personality traits). Also, within-person grade variability did not predict later educational outcomes at ages 18 and 21. Within-person grade variability is observable, but did not emerge in this study as a meaningful psychological construct. We conclude that understanding the causes and consequences of within-person grade variability is possibly of limited epistemological value.

KW - Educational outcomes

KW - Grades

KW - School performance

KW - Within-person variability

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119065092&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.lindif.2021.102091

DO - 10.1016/j.lindif.2021.102091

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85119065092

SN - 1041-6080

VL - 93

JO - Learning and individual differences

JF - Learning and individual differences

M1 - 102091

ER -